Appeals court decertifies nationwide class in tobacco litigation

NEW YORK (AP) _ A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the formation of a nationwide class of cigarette smokers seeking recovery of punitive damages from tobacco companies for allegedly misleading them.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals returned the case to a Brooklyn judge who in 2002 certified the class of smokers seeking damages under state law for the alleged concealment of health hazards.
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The plaintiffs alleged that representatives of the tobacco companies met in December 1953 at a Manhattan hotel and agreed to begin a half-century scheme to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking and to stop competing with one another and researching the manufacture of less harmful cigarettes.
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"This decision is correct and in line with decisions made by every other federal court and most state courts, which have determined that class action lawsuits are not appropriate for trying smoking and health cases," said Charles A. Blixt, {R.J. Reynold's} executive vice and general counsel.

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